Jawan injured in Naxal-planted IED blast in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, Mar 28 (PTI) A Bastar Fighters jawan was injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Friday, police said.

The incident took place around 10 am near Bedmakoti village under Kohkameta police station limits when a joint team of security forces was out on an area domination operation, a senior official said.

Personnel belonging to the Indo Tibetan Border Police, and District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters, both state police units, were involved in the operation launched from Kutul security camp towards a newly established camp in Bedmakoti, he said.

When the patrolling team was cordoning off the area, a Bastar Fighters jawan inadvertently stepped on the pressure IED, which exploded and left him injured, the senior police official said.

The injured jawan was shifted to the Narayanpur district hospital. He would be referred to a higher center for medical care if required, the official added.

Maoists often plant IEDs along the road and dirt tracks in the forest to target security personnel during patrolling in the interior pockets of the state’s Bastar region, comprising seven districts including Narayanpur.

Many civilians have fallen prey to such traps in the past in the tribal-dominated region, police said. PTI